Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren star in three stories about - well, men and women - in "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," a Vittorio de Sica film.
The stories vary, with the two stars playing roles that show off their different talents. All three of the stories showcase one of Loren's great talents - her awe-inspiring beauty.
I was lucky to have seen this in Italian with subtitles. The Italian language is so beautiful. I loved hearing it spoken and to see the Italian scenery along with it.
The first story is about a woman who keeps getting pregnant to avoid going to prison for not paying for furniture she purchased. She ends with 7 kids and a husband so worn out he can barely walk. Meanwhile, with each birth, she becomes more beautiful. It's either the longest story or it went on the longest - it's not the most interesting of the three.
The second story involves a rich woman with no regard for anyone but herself and her money, even though she talks a different game entirely to her new boyfriend as they're driving. She keeps bumping into people with her car. When she lets the boyfriend drive, he crashes the car rather than a hit a child, and she has a fit. A real nasty piece of work.
The third story is really the best - Loren is a high-class prostitute who befriends a young man studying for the priesthood. He's staying with his vicious grandmother in the apartment across from hers. The grandmother flings insults at Loren. Meanwhile, one of Loren's steadies, Mastroianni, can't get to first base with her because she's so distracted. This vignette is famous for Loren's hot striptease, which she repeats for Mastroianni again in 1994's "Pret a Porter." Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren are excellent in all of their roles, set against the beauty of the Italian locales. Loren is gorgeous, in fact, beyond gorgeous, particularly in the last sequence. Even today, she manages to dazzle. There's something about her that no American actress can even approximate.
This film may have been a little overrated in its day, but it is certainly well worth seeing.
